March 1, 1924 issue ~ cover art by Henry C. Murphy

March 1, 1924 issue

cover art by Henry C. Murphy

~ H.G. Addison, “The Pain Thermometer”, ‘Daytime story’, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Harry Adler, “The Impossible Murder”, ‘A Complete Novelette’, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Marjory Stoneman Douglas, “White Midnight”, 1st of 4 parts, ‘South Seas setting’, author’s only story in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “Afraid of a Gun”, ‘Set in Kootenai River country (Montana)‘, 1st of 2 stories in this same issue, which also includes 2 letters from the author, reprinted in Nightmare Town (Knopf, 1999)

~ Dashiell Hammett, “Zigzags of Treachery”, the Op [7th of 25], 2nd of 2 stories in this same issue, reprinted in Nightmare Town (Knopf, 1999), reprinted in The Big Book of the Continental Op (Vintage, 2017), reprinted in Zigzags of Treachery: The Complete Black Mask Cases of the Continental Op, Vol. 1 (Steeger, 2023), 12th and 13th of 51 stories in BM

~ Harford Powel, Jr., “What Did She See?”, ‘billed as ‘A Real Black Mask Mystery’, author’s 6th and final appearance in BM, ‘for HP, see also under Albert LEE”

~ Charles Somerville, “The False Clue”, 26th of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, 27th of 49 total articles in BM

~ Richard Hoadley Tingley, “The Sultan’s Diamond”, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Edward Parrish Ware, “The Hay-Bag”, ‘Headnote: “Another mule skinner story, written in breezy slang.”’, 4th of 9 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

February 1930 issue ~ cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

February 1930 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

~ Ramon Decolta (Raoul Whitfield), “West of Guam”, 1st of 24 Jo Gar stories in BM, reprinted in West of Guam: The Complete Cases of Jo Bar (Altus Press, 2013)

~ Dashiell Hammett, “The Farewell Murder”, the Op [21st of 22], 40th of 45 stories in BM

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “Black Burton Hits Back”, 11th of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, 15th of 39 stories in BM

~ W.H.B. Kent, “Framing the Killer”, 5th of 6 Westerns with Killer Blake, deputy sheriff & agent of the Stock Association

~ Hapsburg Liebe, “The Regeneration of John Carter”, Western, 2nd of 4 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Alley Rat”, 9th of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, reprinted in Winter Kill: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kenney, v.1 (Altus, 2013), 21 of 67 stories in BM

~ Henry Wallace Phillips, “Just a Canter”, 5th of 8 with Red Saunders, 9th of 12 stories in BM

~ Earl and Marion Scott, “Seven Glass Beads”, 5th of 6 stories with ‘Cameo Kirby, reformed jewel thief’, ‘Kirby & Wah Foo Wah, Chinese murderer’, 11th of 17 stories in BM as a couple

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Green Ice”, ‘Mal Ourney; part 3 (of 5), ‘The Crime Breeders’, presented as separate stories rather than conventional serial’, published in hardcover in 1930 by Knopf as Green Ice, 37th of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

August 15, 1923 issue

August 15, 1923 issue

cover art by H.C. Murphy

better image than previously posted

~John Ayotte, “The Devil’s Breath”, ‘Another of those fascinating Hawaiian tales’, 3rd of 10 stories in BM

~ Crowley Conmarr, “Fingers Clawing”, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Clinton Foy, “The Fatal Sin”, ‘insane 1st-person narrator’, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Gilbert Hammond, “Psycho-Whatchamacallit”, author’s sole story in BM

~ Howard R. Marsh, “The Sign at No. 278”, ‘billed as a ‘ten minute story’, set in Chinatown, San Francisco, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Herman Petersen, “The Black Gauntlet”, ‘advertised as “A Long Novelette of South Seas Adventure”’, 10th of 20 stories in BM

~ William Rollins, Jr., “The House of the Fiend Who Laughs”, ‘Daytime Story’, 4th of 23 stories in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “The Tap on the Door”, 13th of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, 14th of 49 total articles in BM

~ Willett Stockard, “The One-Man Mob”, 2nd of 5 stories in BM

November 1, 1923 issue ~ cover art by L.L. Balcom

November 1, 1923 issue

cover art by L.L. Balcom

~ John Ayotte, “White Tents”, ‘Col. Edwards’, 7th of 10 stories in BM

~ Frank Conly, “The Man Who Was Not”, ‘Can the dead be brought back to life?’, 1st of 2 in BM

~ Henry W. Fisher, “Executioners I Have Met”, ‘1st of 6 ‘true’ articles with various subtitles’

~ Dashiell Hammett, “It”, ‘private detective, 1st-person narrator, not an Op tale’ according to Hagemann but reprinted in The Big Book of the Continental Op (Vintage, 2017), reprinted in Zigzags of Treachery: The Complete Black Mask Cases of the Continental Op, Vol. 1 (Steeger, 2023), 6th of 51 stories in BM

~ George C. Henderson, “Who Shot?” ‘Complete Novelette’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Stanley R. Hofflund, “The Third Rider”, ‘yarn set in Mexico’, author’s only story in BM

~ Margaret Alison Johansen, “Mrs. Vandam’s Diamonds”, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Herman Petersen, “One Dried Head”, 1st of 3 parts, South Seas; issue also has brief article, “The Gentle Art of Drying Heads”, relates to “One Dry Head”, 11th and 12th of 20 pieces in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “The Hand of God”, 18th of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, 19th of 49 total articles in BM

[note: at this time, Hammett does not yet merit mention on the cover]

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

June 18, 2015

March 1930 issue ~ cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

March 1930 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by J. W. Schlaikjer

~ Ramon Decolta (Raoul Whitfield), “Death in the Pasig”, Jo Gar, 2nd of 24 in BM, reprinted in The Hard-Boiled Omnibus (1946), reprinted in West of Guam: The Complete Cases of Jo Bar (Altus Press, 2013)

~ Dashiell Hammett, “The Hat Trick”, Ned Beaumont, 1st of 4 stories that will go together to make up The Glass Key (published 1931), 41st of 45 stories in BM

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “Boom Town”, 12th of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, 16th of 39 stories in BM

~ Horace McCoy, “Frost Rides Again”, 5th of 14 Frost stories with ‘Capt. Jerry Frost, Texas (Air) Ranger’, 6th of 17 stories in BM, reprinted in The Black Mask Boys (1985, Morrow) as “Frost Flies Alone”

~ Earl and Marion Scott, “Bitter Business”, 3rd of 6 stories with ‘Phil Craleigh, once brilliant lawyer, now a drunk, given to bouts of reform’, 12th of 17 stories in BM as a couple

~ Peter G. Thomas, “The Bell in the Fog”, ‘River pirates in NYC’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Oval Face”, ‘Mal Ourney; part 4 (of 5), ‘The Crime Breeders’, presented as separate stories rather than conventional serial’, published in hardcover in 1930 by Knopf as Green Ice, 38th of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

February 1, 1923 issue ~ cover art by A. Rose

February 1, 1923 issue

cover art by A. Rose

~ Eustace Hale Ball, “The Trail of the Scarlet Fox”, part 2 of 6 parts with various subtitles, BM debut, 2nd of 13 appearances in BM

~ Drayton Dunster, “Her Gold and Her Pearls”, 2nd of 9 stories in BM

~ Eliza Mae Harvey, “The Last Snow”, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ W.H. Holmes, “Creeping Death”, ‘A Complete Mystery Novelette’, 1st of 3 stories in BM

~ Francis James, “Sinister Images”, Prentice, Harvard-trained criminologist turned policeman (‘the young Central Office Man’) with Police Chief Shannon, 1st of 4 parts, 3rd of 20 appearances in BM

~ A. Kandel, “Eulogy on a Rare Theme”, ‘brief-brief’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Roy L. McCardell, “A Million A Year”, last of 4 parts, 4th of 5 appearances in BM

~ Marr Murray, “Hades and Return”, ‘South Sea story‘, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “After Ten Thousand Miles”, 1st of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, ‘(see pp. 38-39 for data on CS); no effort has been made to sustain the supposed veracity of series; see also under Joseph Gallomb, Glenn G. Gravatt, & Robert Lee Heiser’, 1st of 49 total articles in BM

~ Horace Winston Stokes, “The Devil’s Hollow”, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Joe Taylor, “The Fixer”, 4th of 12 tales in ‘My Underworld’ series, billed as fiction, 4th of 13th appearances in BM

~ N.H. Wilson, “The Head of Clampini”, ‘Daytime story’, author’s sole appearance in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

April 15, 1924 issue

April 15, 1924 issue

better image than previously posted

~ Carroll John Daly, “One Night of Frenzy”, 10th of 71 appearances in BM

~ Harold De Polo, “Mr. Dugan’s Vocation”, 5th of 6 stories in BM

~ Marjory Stoneman Douglas, “White Midnight”, last of 4 parts, ‘South Seas setting’, author’s only story in BM

~ Edward Ettinger, “The Mystery of Perkins Farm”, 2nd and last story in BM

~ Arthur S. Garbett, “The Times Speeder”, ‘amateur sleuth, 1st-person narrator, novelette’, last of 4 stories in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “The House in Turk Street”, the Op [9th of 25], see sequel “The Girl with the Silver Eyes”, (6/1924), reprinted in The Big Book of the Continental Op (Vintage, 2017), reprinted in Zigzags of Treachery: The Complete Black Mask Cases of the Continental Op, Vol. 1 (Steeger, 2023), 15th of 51 stories in BM

~ L.M. Lish, “Poker”, ‘short-short’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ C.S. Montanye (Carleton Stevens), “The Seven Gold Figures”, 7th of 10 with ‘Captain Valentine, that ‘attractive European scalawag’, adventurer and rascal’, ‘see p.127 for letter from CSM‘, 23rd of 29 stories in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “A Reporter’s Clue”, 28th of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, 29th of 49 total articles in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

October 1930 issue ~ cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

October 1930 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

~ Ramon Decolta (Raoul Whitfield), “Nagasaki Knives”, 2nd half of Jo Gar story, 7th of 24 stories in BM, reprinted in West of Guam: The Complete Cases of Jo Bar (Altus Press, 2013)

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “The Dark Pack”, ‘Western’, 19th of 39 stories in BM

~ James Howard Leveque, “Nigger Loon”, bayou tale, sole appearance in BM

~ James P. Olsen, “’Shot!’”, 1st of 6 Western stories in BM

~ Lester Reynard, “Ladies Love Diamonds”, ‘San Francisco setting’, last of 5 stories in BM

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Death in a Bowl”, 2nd of 3 serialized parts, ‘Ben Jardinn, Hollywood eye, & murder in Hollywood Bowl’, ‘(originally titled The Maestro Murder)’, published in hardcover in 1931 by Knopf, 42nd of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop